The Robbery Chapter Nine
by susanb51
Summary: Keith is held hostage by bank robbers


The Robbery

Chapter Nine:

Angelina stared at Keith's long fingers entwined in her hand. "Good god," she thought. "He's holding my hand!"

For a minute Keith was confused by Angelina's focused gaze at his hand but then he smiled. "How silly," he thought. "Why did girls get so goofy just because he touched them?" He tightened his grip slightly and she brought her eyes up to look into his. "It's just a hand," Keith teased.

Angelina blushed and started to yank her hand away but Keith held on. "No. Don't pull away. I meant what I said earlier. I'm very grateful for your help. If you hadn't come I think I would have been much sicker. Thank you."

She smiled at the superstar sitting beside her. His look was so sincere and intense. She couldn't believe it. Keith Partridge was touching and talking to her. Wait til she told her friends what she did over the Labor Day holiday.

Suddenly the closed bedroom door burst open and in walked Angelina's father, Joseph Moretti. "Well, Keith. I'm so glad you are awake. Are you feeling better," Joseph asked smoothly. His eyes zeroed in on Angelina's hand encased in Keith's. Joe hoped he had timed his entrance correctly. Joe wanted the two to bond a little but did not want them discussing any recent 'business' dealings.

At first Keith felt his eyes ice over with hatred for Joseph but he caught himself. Angelina was innocent in this murderous affair and she didn't deserve to find out about her father in a remote cabin where daddy dearest could get angry.

Keith looked blankly at Joe."Yes, sir. Thanks to your daughter I feel much better. She tells me a hunter shot me. I don't seem to be able to recall much of what has gone on recently. It must be the loss of blood and my high fever."

Joseph winked. This kid was smart. "Angelina, my baby. I'm sure Keith must be starving. How bout you go and fix some chicken noodle soup? Maybe bring him some orange juice and a few crackers? We need to get him back on his feet."

"Of course, Daddy. How thoughtless of me. I'll be right back." Angelina jumped to her feet and released her hold on Keith's warm hand. She bent and kissed Keith's surprised cheek. Turning to her father she kissed him as well and whispered, "Thank you, Daddy." Then she hurried to the kitchen.

Joseph shut the door slowly behind her and the move frightened Keith. Without thinking, Keith pushed himself up straighter in the bed and the movement sent incredible pain shooting across his chest from his injured shoulder. He gasped feeling weak but when Joe reached out Keith swatted his hand away. "Don't. Get your hands off me. I don't need any more of your help."

Joseph chuckled. "You and my daughter seem to be getting along or do you just naturally flirt with every girl you see, Mr. Partridge? I'm sure being famous makes it easy to find lots of girlfriends to hold hands with..."

"Stop it," Keith snarled quietly. " I wasn't flirting with Angelina. I was just thanking her. She has been very kind to help me. Being famous has nothing to do with it."

"I'm glad to hear that you've come up with a plausible story to go along with the little lie I told Angelina. I'm glad that you can see she has a crush on you and shouldn't be told too much about her daddy and his work." Joseph looked at Keith complacently.

Keith glared at Joseph. "You make me sick. Your daughter shouldn't have been invited to this. Why would you do this to your own kid? That sweet girl adores you. It's obvious. I am not going to tell her that her dad is a killer but now what? How is this going to play out now that she is here? What exactly are you expecting from me, Mr. Moretti?"

Joseph took a calming breath. "I don't like being lectured to by a teenager," Joseph answered in a serious, deadly soft voice. "I am expecting you to do whatever I instruct you to do, Mr. Partridge. My daughter is the reason you're alive. Killing is like breathing to me, kid. It is nothing. I would have killed that old lady, or the teller, or you. Age, male or female, makes no difference. I kill whoever gets in my way or in my business. You are alive because my daughter likes you. That's what is keeping you alive. I still have work to do and I knew Angelina could help so I asked her to come take care of you. Tomorrow while me and my friends are busy; you and Angie will stay here and relax. You need more rest and she needs a few more hours with her favorite teen idol. You two can talk and hold hands and make lovey dovey eyes at each other until I return. You keep my kid smiling and I'll let you go home safely to your family Wednesday. I'll let you be the one and only witness I have ever let live. You keep my Angie happy, you keep your mouth shut about my affairs, and you'll get to live a long, productive life and have a great story to tell your kids and grand kids."

Joseph stopped and came closer and bent down until his cruel face hovered next to Keith's pale cheek. "But Keith, if you open your mouth about my work, if you try to get away, if you tell my Angie anything I'll murder you slowly and painfully and if necessary I'll do the same to Angelina. You'll watch me kill an innocent girl if you fail to do as I'm ordering you to do because in the end I care more for the money than anything else on Earth."

Keith's mouth fell open in shock and his hazel eyes were wide with horror. This man was crazier than he could ever have imagined. There was no doubt that every word was true. Angelina was in as much danger as he was.

Joseph waited a few seconds for the truth to sink in for Keith and then Joe continued. "Eat when Angie gets back. You'll feel better. I'm going to get some more aspirin for you. I'm sure your shoulder hurts. That bullet was really deep. Then I want you to sleep. I'll leave the bedroom door unlocked tonight because I'm sure you now have a much better understanding of me and my intentions. Just remember, I don't bluff. Relax, do as I say, and you'll be home day after tomorrow. What you do after that won't matter because Angie and I will be leaving America and no one will be able to find me. Heck, I might even retire." Joe smirked as he considered the retirement possibility. Then Joe walked silently out of the blue cabin bedroom.

Keith felt nauseous. He sank down on the bed though his shoulder protested painfully. 'Great. Now I have to worry about her too,' Keith thought miserably. 'How can I just lie around for two days knowing that madman is out robbing and killing? But if I don't just "relax" with Angelina, Joseph will kill us both. I need to escape but can I get us both safely away now that I know Joe is willing to murder his own daughter?' The dark thoughts in Keith's mind were exasperating.

A timid knock forced Keith to refocus on the here and now. Angelina peeked in. "You okay? I have some soup for you." She came in with a small floral tray full of tempting goodies.

A steaming, green and red apple painted mug filled with chicken noodle first caught Keith's attention. 'Crap' Keith thought unhappily. 'It's that stinking mug again.' But he planted a smile on his face for Angelina and reached for the cup of soup anyway.

"You didn't need to knock," Keith said. "I couldn't possibly be doing anything that you'd be interrupting and besides this is your cabin. I'm just an uninvited guest."

Keith watched as her face fell with sadness. "I'm sorry," Angelina replied. "I know you wish you were somewhere else rather than with me."

Good heavens! She was so sensitive. It was as if she couldn't see the situation for what it really was. Keith wasn't trying to appear ungrateful. He took a sip of the soup. It was delicious and he smiled at Angelina.

"Angie, please don't misunderstand everything I say. You have been like the angel I thought you were. You have stopped my fever. You have made me my favorite soup…Campbell's Chicken and Noodle… and you like my music. My shoulder hurts a lot and like any kid I wish I was at my home recovering. Whenever I am sick or hurt I like to be in my own bed with my mother taking care of me. But since that isn't possible I want you to know that you have made this painful situation much nicer for me. Thank you again." He smiled one of his picture perfect smiles just for her and watched her blush with joy.

Thank goodness she seemed to recover. Keith knew it wouldn't be good for her daddy to hear that Keith was hurting Angelina's feelings. Especially after the threats Joseph had just made. So Keith sat and ate quietly.

Angelina sat and watched him chewing on a few saltines. He had such good manners. No smacking his lips or burping like the boys at her school.

After a few minutes of her scrutiny she was making Keith nervous so he asked her, "Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

She smiled a huge grin. How cool was this? Keith Partridge the rock star wanted to know about her. This had to be the happiest day of her life. Immediately she began to chit chat about her home and her family and her friends and about how much she loved Keith's music.

Keith listened attentively to Angelina as he sipped his soup. It was yummy. The juice was cold and felt so good to his throat and his empty belly. She was just like the girls in his hometown. She loved pink and sour gummy worms and Keith. He smiled at her and made her feel special and commented from time to time on the things she said so she knew he was listening.

When at last the soup was gone and the last cracker crunched; Keith looked at his bedside angel. "Your father says he has some business tomorrow. You are going to stay and keep me company, right?"

Angelina squealed with. "Oh, yes. My dad came into the kitchen and asked me the same thing but I wanted to be sure it was okay with you too, Keith." She waited holding her breath.

"Of course. I'm looking forward to it. You've so nice to me, Angie." Keith smiled again but inside he was still angry and worried.

Joseph appeared at the doorway. "Angie dear, I've brought Keith some more Tylenol. Let's give him some and then let him get some sleep. It's late and we all have a busy day tomorrow." He came next to Keith's bed and handed the boy two pills and a small glass of water.

Keith took it. His shoulder was pounding with each beat of his heart and he was exhausted now that he felt full of soup and crackers.

Angelina walked over to Keith and hugged his neck. "Good night, Keith. Sweet dreams. I'll see you at breakfast." She left the room excited for tomorrow. Keith did not share her excitement.

Joseph gave one last look at Keith. "Remember what we talked about. Go to sleep and no tricks. My buddies and I are right outside this door. Rest and behave and you'll be home before you know it, kid." With one last warning nod Joseph headed out of the bedroom closing the door quietly behind him.

Keith lay down but he left the bedside lamp burning. He did not want to be in the dark with those maniacs right outside his room. He heaved an exhausted sigh. As worried and afraid as Keith felt, he was even more tired. Within minutes he was asleep but his dreams were not 'sweet'. All night he was tortured with nightmares of blood, guns, and Joseph Moretti's evil face.


End file.
